The full nomenclature of the subject matter of the present invention involves extremely long terms. It is customary for those skilled in the art to abbreviate oligoadenylate analogues and related terms in a manner well-known to them. These general and customary abbreviations are set forth herein below and may be utilized in the text of this specification.
Abbreviations:
2-5A, 2',5'-oligoadenylate or p.sub.3 A.sub.n : Oligomer of adenylic acid with 2',5'-phosphodiester linkages and a 5'-terminal triphosphate group.
A.sub.2, A.sub.3 and A.sub.4 : Dimer, trimer and tetramer of adenylic acid with 2',5'-phosphodiester linkages.
pA.sub.3, ppA.sub.3 (or p.sub.2 A.sub.3), pppA.sub.3 (or p.sub.3 A.sub.3): 5'-terminal mono-, di- and triphosphates of A.sub.3.
AMPS: Adenosine 5'-O-phosphorothioate.
SVPD: Snake venom phosphodiesterase.
2'-PDE: 2'-phosphodiesterase
Rp: The R stereoconfiguration about a chiral phosphorous atom in a phosphorothioate internucleotide linkage.
Sp: The S stereoconfiguration about a chiral phosphorous atom in a phosphorothioate internucleotide linkage.
RNase L: 2-5A dependent endoribonuclease.
A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A: (R.sub.p)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-adenosine.
A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A: (Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-adenosine.
A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A: (Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-adenosine.
A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A: (Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(-Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-adenosine.
pA.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A, ppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A, pppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A, pA.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A, ppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A, pppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A, pA.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A, ppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A, pppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A, pA.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A, ppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A, and pppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A: 5'-mono-, di- and triphosphates of A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A, A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A, A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A and A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A.
A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A: (Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Rp)-P-thioadenyly l-(2'-5')-adenosine.
A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A: (Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Rp)-P-thioadenyly l-(2'-5')-adenosine.
A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A: (Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Sp)-P-thioadenyly l-(2'-5')-adenosine.
A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A: (Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Sp)-P-thioadenyly l-(2'-5')-adenosine.
A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A: (Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Rp)-P-thioadenyly l-(2'-5')-adenosine.
A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A: (Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Rp)-P-thioadenyly l-(2'-5')-adenosine.
A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A: (Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Rp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Sp)-P-thioadenyly l-(2'-5')-adenosine.
A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A: (Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Sp)-P-thioadenylyl-(2'-5')-(Sp)-P-thioadenyly l-(2'-5')-adenosine.
pA.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A, ppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A, pppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A, pA.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A, ppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A, pppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A, pA.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A, ppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A, pppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A, pA.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A, ppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A, pppA.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A, pA.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A, ppA.sub.Sp A.sub.R A.sub.Rp A, pppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Rp A, pA.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A, ppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A, pppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A, pA.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A, ppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A, pppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Rp A.sub.Sp A, pA.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A, ppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A, pppA.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A.sub.Sp A: 5'-mono-, di- and triphosphates of the above tetramers.
(Sp)- ATP-alpha-S: Adenosine 5'O-(Sp)-(1-thiotriphosphate).